If it was a materialistic sugar daddy relationship, it would have to be kept hidden. Yet, Madelyn was not only open about it, but now the newspapers were even reporting that Arnold Corporation and Azure Corporation had reached several major business deals. This meant that, having benefited from his daughter Madelyn's involvement, Hayson had fully gained the favor of the Arnold family. Naturally, in front of Madelyn, no one dared to say anything unless they wanted trouble.For some reason, Yvonne had not been to school for a long time, yet she still held a spot in the Math Olympiad training class.As the exam time approached, Madelyn passed the time by reading a novel in Etlinish. Her tutor had mentioned that reading could help increase her knowledge. She used to struggle to even begin a novel, but now she could understand most of it. It was lunchtime, and Madelyn was eating her prepared lunch when Jadie came over, carrying a book in her arms."How've you been lately, Madelyn? Last t
Adrian tried to count, but there were too many things to fit on one hand. He realized that Madelyn and Forrest had done so many things together.Madelyn looked at Adrian as if she understood something. "Isn't it normal for friends to do things like this, like eat together and go shopping? Didn't you and Jadie do the same things?"Madelyn did not know he was the one who had saved her at the fishing village back then. So, when Forrest had asked her to tutor him, she said no because of how Forrest treated her. For two years in high school, Forrest had been mean to her, and his bullying had caused her classmates in Class Six to isolate her. That was why she tended to be aloof and preferred to be alone, not really interacting with others.Her relationship with Forrest had improved from what it once was, and to outsiders, they seemed to get along well, but people forgot the terrible things Forrest had done to her over the past two years. When Forrest grabbed her by the neck and accused he
The girl walked by Madelyn and bumped into her at the doorway. Madelyn heard a loud noise and saw a chair on the floor. She walked over and picked it up. Adrian and Timothy both looked at her.Adrian thought, 'Why's she even here?'Madelyn looked at them and then at Forrest, who seemed really angry. She saw a trail of blood on the floor. She had seen him get mad before when she was in Class Six and thought he might have trouble with his emotions sometimes. Without another word, she put the notes on his desk. "Here are the notes Jadie gave me. Copy them and give them back to her. Then get your hand checked at the nurse's office," she said, then left the room.The two guys nearby did not dare to make a sound. They could tell Forrest was even angrier now, and saying anything might make him mad at them.Forrest picked up the pink notebook and looked inside. The writing was not Madelyn's. The first page had Jadie's name. He quickly tore the notebook in half and threw it into the trash c
Madelyn picked up some paperwork from the office and then went to the special class. It felt more like a boot camp than a regular class. It was supposed to end at 9 pm, but it often went on until 10:30 pm. An elderly man, probably in his late sixties, taught the class. He always had reading glasses perched on his nose. Every single session ended with a test that lasted for an hour and a half, and no student could leave until they had finished. If anyone answered carelessly, they had to copy the questions a hundred times. Even after finishing, students had to stay seated for the entire test time before they could leave.Madelyn covered her mouth as she yawned, unaware of the people crowding outside the door."Madelyn sure works hard," Leyton said outside the window. "She's busy from 7 am to 10 pm every day. Even after getting home, she has to do homework until midnight."Ethan peered through the window, a gentle smile in his dark eyes. "She's just doing what people her age should be
"Why'd you come to the school?" Madelyn asked, catching her breath with her hand on her chest."George called me and told me you hadn't come home yet. I thought you might still be at school," Ethan said, giving a smile. "I was worried since it's late, so I came to check on you. I didn't expect the students here to be so enthusiastic."Madelyn and Ethan rode the elevator down to the first floor. Madelyn looked anxiously back at Leyton, still upstairs. "You're such a big shot, most people don't get to see you," she said. "You could've just given me a call.""I tried to call, but your phone was off," Ethan said."Oh!" Madelyn exclaimed, finally realizing. "I turned my phone off during the test. I'm sorry. You don't have to wait for me; you've got a lot of work to do.""How could I not worry when you're alone?" he asked.Madelyn's lips lifted into a smile. Nobody had ever been this kind to her."Leyton parked the car at the school entrance, so it's a bit of a walk," Ethan said. "Do
It had not killed her, but she had developed a high fever of 104 degrees Fahrenheit. If the maid had not found her, Hayden might not even have called a doctor to look at her.After that, Madelyn had trouble breathing. She had to take a lot of yucky medicine every day. Too much medicine can be bad for you, especially if you are sick for a long time. So, Madelyn started to feel weaker and weaker.'Maybe I'm not alone after all. There really are people who care about me,' she thought.The next day, she slept in. 'If I keep missing morning classes, Ms. Hann will probably talk to me about it. I can't be late again tomorrow.'"Miss Jent, didn't Mr. Arnold come down with you?" a maid asked.Madelyn was taking some medicine sweetened with honey, so it was not too bitter. "Hasn't he gotten up yet?""No, I haven't seen him yet.""I'll go get him."Madelyn finished eating and headed upstairs. When she arrived at the room, she noticed the door was slightly open. She gave a gentle knock, an
Jadie pressed her lips together as she looked at the neatly bound notebook. She felt a mix of emotions that she could not quite describe. "Madelyn, I gave you those notes. Why did you give them to Forrest? Everyone at school is saying that I..."'Ah, so that's why!' Madelyn thought. She quickly replied, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have given your notes to Forrest. I thought he would just make a copy, not tear them out."Jadie sighed and said, "I didn't want to tell you this, Madelyn, but I'm worried. If Zach hears about this, he might get the wrong idea. You know how we just got together. I don't want anything like this to upset him.""I get it," Madelyn said reassuringly. "If my brother gets the wrong idea, I'll explain it to him."Jadie noticed the workbook on Madelyn's desk. She picked it up and checked it out. "Did you buy this workbook?""Mr. Newton gave it to me," Madelyn replied."Really? I think it's the latest one," Jadie said."Is it? I didn't know," Madelyn admitted. "But
Forrest had one arm wrapped around Kayla's waist and a pen in his other hand. He glanced at a sheet of paper with a question on it, looking bored. In a careless tone, he said, "Well, make her kneel down and clean it up then." The people around him watched with amusement and laughed. Kayla, her face twisted in a mocking smile, lifted her foot that had been stepped on. "What are you looking at?" she snapped. "Kneel down and clean it up. Don't you understand?""I... I understand," Mya responded hesitantly.Kayla was originally not from Ventropolis; she moved here from a small town. Her family had become wealthy by selling pork, and that was why they could afford to move to the big city. She had transferred to the new school in her junior year, hoping it would be a friendly place. Instead, her classmates pushed her aside just because her family sold pork. She tried telling them that her family sold other stuff, like organic produce and farm-fresh eggs, too, but nobody listened. They even
Liam was standing in the rain, and though it hadn't been long, he was thoroughly drenched.Blake quickly pulled him close, her voice laced with concern. "Are you crazy? It's pouring rain! What if you catch a cold?"Liam's look was subdued, his face showing signs of fatigue. "I'm okay. This is for you; I didn't want you to have to come out in this weather."As Blake took in his forlorn appearance, her heart softened suddenly. 'Am I losing my mind?' she thought."Now you'll have to pay more attention to me, Blake... I was just so scared of losing you. I've put everything I have into getting you to agree to marry me; the idea of you walking away is unbearable."Overwhelmed with emotion, Blake locked eyes with him. "Did she teach you to say that too?" she asked, her hand moving on its own to brush away the raindrops from his hair.A maid nearby, observing the scene, rushed over with a blanket and an umbrella. However, Grace, fully grasping the gravity of the moment, halted her. Ackno
Cecilia said, "It's fine. Let's give them a week. Rearrange the flight and all the plans for the trip. This is Blake's first time getting married and going abroad for honeymoon. I want to make sure she has a good time."Susan nodded. "Okay, Ms. Samford."Not long after Cecilia left, three editors who used to work for Olivia's company entered her office. All of them spoke in panic, "Ms. Blue, what should we do? Ms. Samford already knows everything. If the legal department finds out about it, will we go to jail?"Olivia remained calm as she said, "Don't panic. Just focus on your work.""But we got into this company through you. What if they say we got into this company through the back door and then fired us?"Olivia sat at her desk, supporting her forehead with her hands. She was obviously panicking. "Don't worry, I'll handle this."You guys can leave now."Olivia did not expect this matter to be exposed so soon. She wondered how Cecilia found out about it. 'Could it be that she'
StartReading Literary was the last place Cecilia wanted to be. But she made an exception this time.Olivia had just finalized a cooperative copyright deal with another website company. Several editors from her own company were there at StartReading Literary. As she entered the office, she saw all the editors from StartReading Literary sitting upright, not daring to make a sound.She also saw her office door was wide open. She frowned as she walked into her office and was surprised to see an unexpected gust.Olivia put down the documents in her hand. "Ms. Samford, what brings you here?"With her legs crossed and Susan standing behind her, Cecilia stared at Olivia, who was in front of her.Cecilia sneered and stood up. She ran her fingers along the desk. "StartReading is actually the last place I want to be. I came here because I found out that you enjoy meddling in other people's affairs. Otherwise, you wouldn't even qualify to see me."Olivia instantly looked wary. She remained s
Liam stood up. He watched as Blake, who looked weary, walked away. "Blake, what do you want me to do so you'll like me?"Blake did not stop walking. Instead, she took even bigger steps and left.She went to the Harper residence, which surprised everyone.Grace asked, "Blake? Why did you come back here? Where's Liam? Why didn't he come back with you?"Blake stuttered, unable to find the words. She just made up an excuse, saying, "It's nothing. I just wanted to come back."After Hannah and Yael left the wedding last night, they went back to the research institute.As for Simon, he went to the farm to manage the business.After Blake went to her room, Grace became worried. She followed her and saw her sitting with a blank expression in the room, not knowing what to do.When Blake saw Grace, she quickly adjusted her mood. "Grace, why are you here?""I came to check on you. Blake, what's wrong? Did you have a fight with Liam? You just had your wedding yesterday, and you're already
The pregnancy test report came out fifteen minutes after Blake did the test. She was indeed pregnant. She was even seven weeks pregnant.Blake had indeed been involved with Kevin while in Northern Myanmar over a month ago.She held the medical report while standing bewildered in the cold hospital corridor. Lights shone through the floor-to-ceiling window onto her body, but all Blake felt was the cold, which made her hands and feet numb.She was lost in her thoughts. 'I'm really pregnant. What should I do with this baby? I want it to be born more than anyone else. But now, everything has changed. This child shouldn't come into this world.'She wandered in the corridor. Suddenly, she saw someone coming out of another gynecological room.She thought, 'Some things are just destined by fate. When I long to see him, even catching a glimpse of him in a dream feels like a luxury, an unattainable wish. But now, when I don't want to see him, it seems he appears everywhere I go.'Kevin supp
Blake wondered, 'I'm now pregnant with Kevin's child. What should I do?'She woke up groggily when she felt someone carry her. She opened her heavy eyelids and asked, "What time is it now?"Liam responded, "It's four-thirty in the morning. It's still early; go back to sleep for a while more."Blake said in a hoarse voice, "I've made an appointment for an abortion at eight o'clock. Regardless of whether I'm really pregnant or not, I don't want to keep this child."She had thought about it all night and believed this was the best decision.Kevin was going to get engaged. Blake believed he would get married and Audrey would give birth to his children. There was simply no need for her to complicate things further.She thought, 'If I choose to be selfish and decide to keep this baby, and if people find out about it, my child will be treated as an illegitimate child. I don't even dare to imagine how badly the child will be treated.'If giving birth to the baby will bring it a lifetime
Blake continued, "What about you, Liam? Do you mind?"If you do, you can choose to divorce me. After all, I've wronged you. No one wants to marry a woman who's carrying someone else's child."Liam stepped forward on the shattered cup and hugged her tightly. "I don't mind. Blake, I love you, including everything about you. I don't mind your past. I just want to start over with you. I didn't tell you about the pregnancy because I was selfish; I wanted to keep you by my side."Blake, your child is my child. I want to raise the baby with you."Don't leave me, okay?"Blake did not know why, but she was not surprised by her pregnancy. However, she felt that there were still some things that she could not let go of, though she was unsure what those were.She was not as calm as she had imagined.She thought about her past events. Then, she indifferently said, "Liam, I don't want this child. Since I'm prepared to be with you, I won't keep this child. It wouldn't be fair to you."Liam di
On this romantic night, the moon was obscured by the clouds.Breathing heavily, Blake felt some pain in her abdomen. She asked to stop. "Liam, my stomach hurts. I think I'm going to have my period soon."Liam sobered up instantly. "I'll go get you some medicine."She peeked out from under the blanket as the bedside lamp turned on. She could clearly see Liam's naked upper body. Her face flushed as she averted her gaze. "It's fine. Just help me call the front desk and ask them to bring up a pack of sanitary pads. I'll go to the bathroom to deal with it."Liam replied, "Let's go to the hospital tomorrow for a check-up."Blake picked up her clothes from the floor and went to the bathroom. "It's okay. It's probably just my period."However, judging by the blood flowing out, it did not seem like menstrual blood to Blake. It looked like something else.Blake's voice came from the bathroom again. "I think we should go to the hospital."She sat on the toilet and watched the tall, slende
Blake had no bridesmaids, so she returned to the hotel room alone. As she stepped out of the elevator and was ready to use the room key card in her hand to swipe and enter the room, she suddenly saw a figure appear from the corner of her eye.She stopped her action and looked at the person who had left the wedding earlier.At that moment, Blake felt her breath catch, but it was only fleeting. She then quickly regained her composure and averted her gaze. She asked, "Didn't you leave? Why are you still here?"Kevin replied, "Congratulations."Upon hearing his congratulations, Blake felt a mix of amusement and discomfort. "There's nothing to congratulate. If anything, I should congratulate you. You're soon to be the mayor's son-in-law. In the future, we won't belong in the same social class anymore."I'm tired and came back to rest. You should leave now before Liam comes up and sees you here."Don't look for me again. I don't want him to misunderstand."Kevin responded, "Audrey and